Fox News’ Brit Hume said a question posed by NBC News’ Peter Alexander during a Friday briefing on the coronavirus pandemic was a “bullsh*t gotcha question” thrown at President Donald Trump.
Though numerous journalists and commentators — including some at Fox News — have defended Alexander for asking the president a legitimate question about what he would say to Americans who were scared about the pandemic, Hume disagreed.
“Legitimate question my a**. It was the kind of bullsh*t gotcha question which hack WH reporters have been asking for decades,” Hume, a Fox News analyst and former ABC News White House correspondent, wrote on Twitter. “But instead of going off on the reporter, Trump should have said the whole briefing in all its particulars was a message to people who are scared.”
Earlier on Friday at a press briefing, Alexander had asked the president what he would say to “Americans who are scared” — a question that he later defended as being a “softball” that would’ve given the president an opportunity to “reassure” millions of Americans with “a sort of positive or uplifting message.”
“There’ll be 200 dead, 14,000 who are sick, millions — as you witnessed — who are scared right now. What do you say to Americans watching you right now who are scared?” Alexander asked.
Trump offered no “positive or uplifting message” and instead decided to verbally attack Alexander.
“I say that you’re a terrible reporter,” the president responded. “I think that’s a very nasty question, and I think it’s a very bad signal that you’re putting out to the American people. The American people are looking for answers and they’re looking for hope. And you’re doing sensationalism, and the same with NBC. … That’s really bad reporting, and you ought to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism.”
Later that day, Alexander asked the same question to Vice President Mike Pence, who responded with, “I would say do not be afraid, be vigilant.”